


Surprise

by jenfurlee (orphan_account)



Series: Westfall Family Fics [7]
Category: Wentworth (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 06:45:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8391289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/jenfurlee
Summary: Bridget is heartbroken to find out that Franky Doyle has never had a birthday party.





	

Having been in the field of psychology for so long, Bridget felt like she was better equipped to detach herself from the traumatic tales of Franky’s past. Her soon to be wife was growing more and more comfortable with each passing day to tell her about everything she had bottled up for so many years. At first, Bridget had felt so honored that she felt safe enough to reveal any information at all. The stories of physical and verbal abuse weren’t unlike the one’s she had heard from hours of countless therapy sessions with other victims much like her Franky. Those weren’t the stories that broke her heart, as awful as they were. Franky had worked incredibly hard to fight her demons. It was the little things that caused Bridget’s heart to break for the woman.  
  
“What’s the fuck is a pinata?” Franky asked with deeply creased eyebrows as she filled in the crossword puzzle from the Sunday paper.  
  
“You know, the paper mache things that kids hit that’s full of candy? Surely you’ve seen one at a birthday party?” Bridget giggled softly.  
  
“I’ve never been to a birthday party,” Franky said like it was nothing. Her reading glasses were slipping down the bridge of her nose as she counted the boxes for the next word.  
  
“Have you ever had a birthday party?” Bridget’s heart leapt upwards in her chest. She ventured to ask. Franky shook her head while she read the clue, with her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. “Ever?”  
  
“Nah, we moved around so much when my dad left, it was hard to make and keep friends,” she added filling in twelve down as she spoke. 

 

That’s when Bridget decided she would throw Franky Doyle her first birthday party. 

 

“So what’s the birthday girl feel like doing tonight?” Bridget asked baiting the newly thirty-five year old woman in the passenger seat beside her. They’d been out to lunch to one of Franky’s favorite places along the pier, then they’d spent the afternoon with their toes in the sand enjoying one of the last few warm days in the sunshine. Truth be told, it had all been a ruse to get the woman out of the house to give Vera time to decorate their home for the evening’s festivities.  
  
“Oh Jesus fuck, Gidge, quit reminding me,” she groaned tossing her head against the seat behind her. “I hate birthdays,” she mumbled dramatically for the umpteenth time that evening. “I just want to go home and drink ourselves into a stupor. Then maybe you’ll stop reminding me about my damn birthday,” she grumbled, but her lips turned upwards into a slight smile. Bridget tried to hide the excitement in the pit of her stomach from her ever-suspicious girlfriend. She pulled the car into the driveway before leaning over and pressing her lips to Franky’s.  
  
“I love you even if you are ‘as old as balls’ now,” she giggled playfully smacking her palm against Franky’s cheek, stealing her words.  
  
“Gee, thanks, love,” she scoffed as she exited the car and followed Bridget up the walkway with the decoy grocery bags in hand. Bridget turned the key slowly only to reveal a pitch black house. “Is the power out or something?” Franky asked with creased eyebrows as she moved to flip the hallway light on.  
  
“SURPRISE!” The roar of voices came from the packed kitchen and living room complete with whistling kazoos and cheers. Franky’s hands dropped the grocery bags clumsily, causing the carton of milk to spill its contents on the floor. Vera and Will were towards the front of the group of people, smiles plastered over their faces. Bridget wasn’t surprised when they had expressed interest in attending Franky’s party. Bridget had come clean about their relationship status the day Franky had finally been lifted from parole. It was quite touching how much the group had grown to care about Franky after her time there. They, much like Bridget, had seen how hard she had worked to better herself. The brunette was standing in a puddle of milk with her hands were covering her beet-red face as she fled quickly upstairs towards their bedroom just as tears started pouring down her face. Bridget’s co-workers faces were painted in concern at the woman’s reaction. Reassuringly, she told them to go ahead and start the party, and she’d be right down with the birthday girl. Maybe she just needed a moment to calm herself down. Little surprised her about Franky Doyle, but this was definitely new. 

 

“Franky? Where are you, baby?” Bridget asked rounding the corner into their bedroom, but the brunette was nowhere to be seen. The quiet sobs drifted from the bathroom and hit Bridget’s ears. Slowly she stepped toward the en suite to find Franky was tucked with her legs pulled to her chest in the empty bathtub. Her heart sank in her chest to see the woman hiding her face in her hands as her shoulders shook with the effort of her tears.  
  
She was on her knees on the bathmat in no time with her hands squeezing Franky’s knees tenderly.  
  
“Franky, I’m so sorry. I just thought, you told me you’d never had a proper birthday party before, and I-. Oh god, I’ve really stuffed this up haven’t I? I’ll tell them to go,” she felt terrible for causing her lover any pain. Franky pulled her hands away from her face slowly to reveal her blotchy, red skin.  
  
“You did all this for me?” she managed to squeak out, her emerald eyes brimming with more unshed tears.  
  
“Of course, I did. I mentioned having a party to Vera, and she insisted in helping. Word kind of spread around work, and everyone really wanted to come help us celebrate.”  
  
“Really?” Franky was shocked. “I don’t deserve any of this, Gidge, not after everything I’ve done to them.” She moved to cover her face again. “Vera, and Will…” she started, but quickly her tears stopped her from continuing. She had always had a soft spot for Will Jackson whether she care to admit it or not. The truly devastating part was how much he continued to care even after he had discovered it was Franky who had accidentally ended his wife’s life.  
  
“Franky. Everyone that is downstairs is here because they care about you, and they want to help you celebrate your birthday. You are a different person than you were. No one sees that more than them.” She  
  
“Sometimes I really don’t feel like I am, Gidge. I know I did my time, but sometimes I still feel like I’m going to wake up one day back in my cell, and this will have all been a dream,” her thoughts came out in true, honest, Franky Doyle fashion. It was strange how easily the words fell off her lips. There once was a time that she wouldn’t dare speak any of her bottled-up feelings to a soul. That was, until Bridget came along and showed her she was worth something. Bridget pinched the delicate skin of her tattoo-covered arm. “Ow!” Franky squealed. “What the fuck was that for?” She rubbed the red skin with her hand.  
  
“To remind you that you’re not dreaming. You are exactly where you are supposed to be,” Bridget leaned forward over the edge of the tub with her palms planted firmly on Franky’s knees so she could lean forward and press her lips to her lover’s. “With me, in our new house,”  
  
“In a bathtub in our new house,” Franky corrected as she laughed softly. “I’m sorry I freaked the fuck out. I was totally not expecting any of this. Thank you,” Franky brushed her fingertips over Bridget’s lips just like she did that day in Wentworth’s library. That was the day she knew that she was in love with Bridget Westfall.  
  
“That’s kind of the point of a surprise party, dear. It broke my heart to think you haven’t had a single birthday party. I wanted to make it up to you, but I completely understand if you want to tell everyone to piss off. We can eat pizza and watch TV in bed if you’d rather.”  
  
“There’s pizza?” The brunette perked up.  
  
“Rigazzi’s, your favorite. There’s also birthday cake with your name on it.” Bridget added unable to hide the smile on her face.  
  
“Well what the hell are we doing in here?” Franky asked plainly reaching her hands out, palms up for Bridget to help pull her up. As she did so, Franky wrapped her arms tightly around the shorter woman in front of her. “I love you, Spunky,” she whispered into the mess of blonde hair.  
  
“I love you, Baby,” Bridget replied with a smile on her face. Franky took a few seconds to  
  
freshen up, and even changed her clothes because she wanted to look nice for her first official birthday party. By the time she was finally ready, she laced her hand with Bridget’s as they walked down the stairs back towards their waiting and confused guests.  
  
“You lot scared me so bad I nearly pissed myself!” the brunette yelled out causing the room to erupt with laughter.  
  
The party went on without a hitch as the guests mingled enjoying each other’s company. Bridget hung back in the living room with Vera, giving Franky a chance to speak to the mixture of her and Bridget’s work friends. The smile never once left her face as she laughed and drank without a care in the world. It was moments like these that Bridget couldn’t help but become overwhelmed at the intense beauty that her young partner possessed. She had the ability to light up the entire room with her bright, perfect smile. Every so often throughout the evening, Bridget would get caught up in the soft, emerald eyes that had found hers from across the vast living space. Franky would give her a quick wink and wrinkle of her nose to which Bridget would return almost instantly.  
  
Somehow Bridget was able to sneak away unnoticed towards the fridge in the garage to grab the large birthday cake with Franky’s name scrawled across in red frosting. She had enlisted Vera to help her add the two candles, a large three and five, respectively. Franky would have killed her for adding thirty-five separate candles to the dessert. Between the two of them they managed to carry the cake into the kitchen, where Franky stood chatting against the large island. Her eyes grew wide with surprise as the large sheet cake appeared in front of her.  
  
The crowd began to sing the chorus loudly toward the birthday girl, as she began to blush a deep shade of red. As the song came to an off-key end, she inhaled a large breath ready to get the moment over with.  
  
“Wait! You have to make a wish first,” Bridget said with a hand over Franky’s chest halting her from blowing out the candles too soon. “But don’t say it outloud because then it won’t come true,” she added quickly knowing that Franky was new to all this birthday business.  
  
“So I can’t wish for a birthday lap dance?” the woman pouted causing the rest of the room to laugh loudly. Bridget shook her head, but still laughed along. Seconds later, the brunette closed her eyes in thought and the crowd of friends remained silent. “I can’t think of a single thing to wish for because I’ve got it all.” she smiled wrapping an arm around Bridget’s waist to pull her tight against her body. “Thank you for all of this. Everything.” Franky’s eyes were looking down into Bridget’s, completely ignoring the fact that they were surrounded by onlookers. “I love you so much, Gidge,” Franky smiled with tears back in her eyes. “I’ve never been so happy in my whole life,”  
  
“I love you too,” Bridget stood on her toes so she could rub her nose gentle against her lover’s.  
  
“Just kiss her already!” A man hollered from behind them. Both women turned quickly to notice it was Will Jackson pointing towards Vera in hopes she would take the blame. They all cackled with laughter until Franky leaned down to plant a soft kiss on the love of her life. Bridget knew that life with Franky Doyle would always be full of surprises, but she was pretty confident she would be able to keep the younger woman on her toes as well.


End file.
